(i) Field of the Invention
This invention is concerned with the storage and transport of photo-sensitive fluids, especially biological fluids. In particular, the invention is concerned with a container for the storage, protection and transport of such fluids, a method of storing and transporting such fluids and an improved diagnostic method.
(ii) Description of Prior Art
Analytical tests play an important role in food and medicinal chemistry. In the field of medicine such tests are used both in diagnosis and prognosis of disease and are being used increasingly in routine medical examinations.
Analytical tests for diagnosis and prognosis of disease are more generally referred to as diagnostic tests. Such tests involve obtaining samples of body fluids, for example, blood or urine, from a patient, and subjecting the samples to analytical tests for the presence of abnormal components, the absence of normal components or of an excess of normal components, any of which may be indicative of disease or the onset of disease.
The analytical testing is frequently carried out at a location and time remote from those at which the samples are taken.
One difficulty with tests of this type is the possible presence in the sample, at the time of testing, of materials which interfere with the test or distort the test results. Such interfering or disturbing materials may produce a false positive or negative finding.
Another difficulty is that the substances in the sample which are to be tested for may degrade between the time that the sample is taken and the time of the analytical test. One cause of such degradation is exposure to electromagnetic radiation or light.
In order to avoid this problem it has been common practice to store the samples in opaque containers up to the time of testing.
In this way degradation of substances to be tested for may be minimized.
A disadvantage of this practice is that the contents of the container can not be viewed without opening the container. Thus, whether or not a container contains a fluid sample is not apparent from a visual inspection. Opening the container prior to the analytical testing does, of course, expose the fluid contents to electromagnetic radiation which may be sufficient to initiate degradation of substances in the fluid.
It is an object of this invention to overcome problems associated with conventional containers.
It is another object of this invention to provide an improved method for storing and transporting photo-sensitive fluids.
It is still another object of this invention to provide an improvement in diagnostic methods.